Outside Time
by Morralls
Summary: The Doctor finds himself on a planet like nothing he has ever seen. It doesn't revolve around its sun, it doesn't even turn, but the secrets hiding on the surface of that world might just change everything he thinks he knows about time and space.


Everything felt _wrong_, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. There was something inherently unnatural about this world, something that felt _familiar_, but he couldn't place it. All he knew was that he had been intercepted on his travels, pulled through a wormhole or something, and now the TARDIS was as silent as he had ever seen her . Somehow, his beautiful ship had become nothing more than the police box she masqueraded as.

That was after she shrieked and whined throughout her entire hijacking, of course. The Doctor was not currently a happy man. _Nobody_ hurt his ship. He set a gentle hand on the control system. "Don't fret, Old Friend. I'll get us out of here..." He looked apprehensively at the door. "Wherever 'here' is." He patted the console and started towards the door, reaching in his jacket for his sonic screwdriver. There were very few times throughout history when the Doctor could say he was honestly afraid, and even those were usually him being afraid for his companions. He was afraid now. Whatever was on the other side of that door, he didn't like it. Not one bit.

Still, he cracked it open and stepped outside – though he had to squeeze a little: The TARDIS was in a room that was barely big enough for her. _Which actually may well be the safest place to keep her..._ He pressed a comforting hand to the rough wood, then moved on, leaving the tiny room – and his beloved ship – behind.

He found himself standing in a hall of what looked like white marble traced in pure gold, and he wrinkled his nose in distaste. With the sweeping staircase and the high arches mixed with the columns and spires, it looked like a bastardization of Earth's Gothic and Corinthian architecture. He started down the staircase, that feeling of _wrongness_ increasing with every step, until his palms were damp with sweat and his hearts raced. The stairwell let out at the entrance to an enormous Cathedral, all white marble with traces of gold, all leading to three statues standing together. Clearly, he was in a religious temple. He eyed the faces of the figures briefly, but was far more interested in the figure kneeling before them. Closer inspection revealed it to be human_._ The slight build suggested female, and he approached carefully, casting out for signs of danger. She didn't look dangerous, but in this off world, he wanted to be sure. Usually, he could feel some trace of cosmic energy, like reading the energy left behind by some misdeed.

Then the realization hit him like a supernova, and he realized what the wrongness was, and why it was so familiar. Jack Harkness felt wrong in the same way: Out of time. And to a Time Lord, anything that existed out of time was _wrong_. He stumbled, sank onto a wide bench, pressing his hand against his chest. He couldn't feel it. The cosmic energy, the flow of the universe. The planet was completely stationary beneath his feet. That was why the TARDIS wasn't working. He had somehow managed to work his way into a Time Lock. That was the only explanation. But _how?_

"_Hey_!" He started, staring at the young woman who had been praying. She had moved – _how did he not notice that? How had he not __**felt**__ it?- _and was now watching him with a severe expression. "Shouldn't you be working?"

"Working?" _How did I get in here? And how the blazes am I going to get out? _

"Oh... don't tell me. You're a trainee. New from the outside?" She stamped her foot – actually stamped it. "I told them! I _told_ them! I said 'I'm not going to train the next one' and they went and stuck me with you anyway! And me with more to do than any of them! On what planet is that fair?"

"Plenty, probably. Actually, I think I've been to some where that's considered fair." The Doctor mused.

"Great. _And_ you fancy yourself witty." She started wandering off, then stopped at the entrance to the cathedral and turned to look at him. "Well _come on!_ Loads to teach you and even more to do. I don't have time for you to be lagging about all day."

He stood up, feeling unbalanced on this stationary world, and followed her. "I'm sorry, you've completely lost me. What work are you talking about?"

"Are you daft?" She asked suddenly. "I swear, if they sent me somebody daft-"

"No, I'm a genius, actually." He said, surprised to find himself affronted. That was a question that no one had ever asked him before.

"Could've fooled me. Work, you fool. _Work._ The masters won't be happy if things don't get done, and I'm not taking the fall for you." She hadn't stopped moving for almost as long as she'd been talking, and he was power walking to keep up with her as she bustled through the halls.

"What masters?"

"_Our_ masters. Good lord, you'd think you were a completely new one."

"A new... what, exactly?" He asked, speeding up so he could look at her face. From the way she looked at him, he knew that she didn't didn't believe that he wasn't stupid. "You're a slave. Is that it?"

"'Course I am." She replied frankly – and how odd: she didn't look upset about it at all. "You're sure you're a genius... what's your name?"

"I'm The Doctor." He said. "And yes, I'm sure."

"Doctor? Shouldn't you be in the Med-Lab then? You're not supposed to be around me."

He couldn't disagree more. This woman was the oddest, and possibly the most complacent, person he had ever met, but whoever she was, she knew what she was on about. This was a woman of influence, even if it was just over her fellow slaves. "I was sent into the cathedral looking for someone. Can't remember her name. It was something like..."

"Celeste?"

"That's it!"

She looked him up and down and arched an eyebrow. "Hmm. You must have done something very wrong to wind up with me." Suddenly, her entire demeanor changed, and she stopped in her tracks, peering intently at him. "Are you hurt?"

He thought of this odd, still planet, and how unsteady he felt without the turn of the world beneath his feet and the flow of the universe in his veins. "I've had better days."

She nodded briskly. "I can go easy on you for a few cycles, but no more." She started moving again, but slower this time.

He paced her in silence, lost in though. He couldn't fathom a world that didn't move, or for the life of him figure out how he could possibly have ended up in a time lock. What was more, he had traveled to the very end of the universe and (aside from that brief Earth period before they were enlightened) had _never_ known humans to be enslaved. In short, he was lost, confused, and very clearly needed. But what would be the best way to go about saving them? Three minutes' worth of conversation had told him that this strange, brisk young woman wasn't going to tolerate him peppering her with questions.

That gave him two options – Well, millions, really, but sometimes simple really was best. He could go blazing up to the 'masters' or he could play along and learn what there was to know. Which left him with one option, really, because it was never a good idea to go charging into a situation blind. Still, he needed to know one important thing. "So tell me... Has anything been... odd... recently?"

"Now that you mention it, I _did_ get a new trainee recently who isn't exactly normal."

He grinned. To use an Earth affectation that he was rather fond of: This girl had moxie. "Aside from me, I mean."

"Nothing ever changes here." She scoffed, pushing a hidden door open. The world suddenly became less glamorous and more... dingy. These walls were still that marble, but they weren't polished. They were rough and the Doctor had to stop and let Celeste get well ahead of him while his eyes adjusted. Once he could see in the dim light, he jogged to catch up to her.

"This would be our headquarters." He guessed dryly, peering around. "Could do with a bit of work." He ducked his head to dodge a low ceiling beam, walking hunched at her side.

"Did you expect something befitting of one of the masters?" Scorn positively _dripped_ from her voice, but what struck him was that it wasn't for her situation – it was for him.

"You honestly believe they're better than you." How unfathomable.

"I don't believe it. I know it. The Great Gods created us to serve the masters."

He had assumed when he found her in the cathedral that she was religious, but the fervor in her voice now exposed her as devout. She was one of those rare true believers. "Never put much thought into religion myself." He said cheerfully. "I tend to err on the side of science."

"I've no doubt. Everyone from MedLab does. You've no idea what your true purpose it. You're lost."

"That's actually very true. How perceptive." He approved. "I think I may have misjudged you, Celeste. You're cleverer than I thought."

"Mmm. Let's hope _you're _cleverer than I think." She said dryly. "There's a lot to learn, and I don't have much time to teach you."

Could he really do it? A Time Lord? A being of complete and utter freedom pretend to be subservient and obedient? For even a short time? _What a challenge_. He grinned and pushed his sleeves up to his elbows. "Then let's get started."


End file.
